Steam heating system



Aug. 29, 1933. 1.924370 L. NEMENYI, NOW BY JUDICIAL CHANGE OF NAME L. l. NORTHON swam HEATING SYSTEM Filed May 16, 1930 5 5 z k a ,2 Mr E 5 h 3 'Hi I I F I: p; D l lil HI I I A 2 -|I 4 li H HI! fll, I'l :{H 1 [I [I I 7 4 v INVENTOR.

lava: A f/vf/v Y/ A TTORNEY Patented Aug. 29, 1933 p i 1,924,370.

UNlTED STATES PAT-ENTOFFICE STEAM IQIEATING SYSTEM Lajos Nemnyi, now by judicial change of name Louis Irving Northon, Mount Vernon, N. Y

Application May 16, 1930. Serial No. 452,910 4 Claims. (01. 237-67) The general object of the present invention is may be throttled to permit each radiator to conto provide an improved steam heating system tinuously receive steam at the rate required to of the so-called one pipe gravity return type, in maintain approximately the desired room temwhich one or more radiators are supplied with perature at all times when suff cient heat can 5 steam from, and return water of condensation be supplied without using the' full heatingca- 60 to, a single pipe which is vertically disposed and. pacity of the radiator. I t passes the water of condensation which it re- To secure that novel result, I make use of ceives, I downward under the action of gravity" two connections between the radiator andthe into the boiler or into a suitable reservoir in pipe, or riser, from which the radiator receives which the water of condensation is collected. steam and to which it returns water of con- 65 More specifically, the object of the invention densation. One of those connections is a steam is'to provide a heating system of the type 13- supply connection and includes a regulating deferred to in which the steam supply to each vice which may be a manually controlled throttle radiator may be regulated in accordance with valve or a throttle valve automatically controlled,

15 the desired heating duty of the radiator, as by means of a so-called room thermostat. 70

A one pipegravity return heating 'system is The second connection serves to return water ordinarily the simplest and cheapest type of of condensation from the radiator to the pipe, steam heating system which can be installed, and includes m an ma ta in a hydro and such systems are now and long hav bee seal or water seal in the connection, which is in extensive use wherever economy in installaeffective t prevent the flow f Steam through i 75 tion cost is important, and the inherent defects into the radiator, even in the extreme condition of such a system, as previously constructed, are when the steam supp y e ion to the radinot prohibitive. Such heating systems as hereator is closed and the radiator is cold, but whichtofore installed have been open to the objection do not operate to pass water of condensation that they do notpermit of any graduated coninto the radiator or prevent drainage of the lat 80.. trol of the rate at which steam is supplied to ter under any norma Co d of p n- Q. I the radiator. On the contrary, in such systems In my improved heating systemeacli radiator as heretofore installed, the steam supply conis P v d h an air n w ch V i -i nection to each radiator must always be wide eo y is controlledby a h rm i valv open or fully closed. When an attempt is made which may well be ofone or another well known 8 to throttle the radiator steam supply connecform, effective to prevent the discharge-of steam tion in such a system, water hammer invariably through the vent while permitting the escape develops. Even with the steam supply connecof air from the radiator when necessary, and tion wide open, seriously objectionable water permitting atmospheric air to'leak into the ra-,

hammer frequently develops, particularly when diator through the vent to prevent the pressure- 0 the demand for heat is relatively large and the in the-radiator from falling below that of therate. of condensation in the radiator is correatmosphere as it tends to, for example, when spondingly high, as it'is when steam is first incondensation occurs" in the radiator after the troduced into a cold radiator. steam supply connection to the latteris closed,

40 In the practical use ofone pipe heating sys- The water seal in the return connection from tems during mild weather or other periods in the radiator may advantageously comprise a, which 1655 than the maximum heating Capacity pipe section located below the radiaton along of the radiator is continuously needed, the steam side the riser, n inthe spacelreceivingthe m. 7

r Supply connection the radiator is F i ter when thje latter is enclosed in a building wall 40 opened when the need for heat manifests itchamber of space, as is cuswmary in many self by an undue reduction in room tempera- Shana-Ionsi A The .variousieatures' of novelty which char acterize my invention'are pointed out with parture, and is closed when ,theroom temperaturebecomes objectionably high. In general, a building heated by such heating systems is more or 50 less overheated whenever the weather ismodertlculanty m the clalms annexed to and forming 05 ate. Such overheating involves discomfort to apart of t specification r a better rthe occupants f the building, is unhealthy, and standing of the invention, however, and the a necessarily involves a substantial waste of heat. va po e by t e ence shou d behad In my improved heating system, the steam to the accompanying drawing and descriptive supply connections to the individual radiators matter in which I have illustrated and defrom one or more 6 or nipple E r of the pipe E, the lower end e of the 2 scribed a preferred embodiment of the invention. V

Of the drawing Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of a portion of a steam heating system; and

Fig. 2 is an elevation partly broken away and in section of a thermostatic air vent valve.

In the drawing A represents the pipe commonly called the riser pipe, employed to deliver steam to, and receive water of condensation radiators B. In the drawing a single radiator is shown, but in many installations, particularly in apartment houses, each riser- A supplies steam to, and receives Water of condensation from a plurality of radiators .located one above another on successively higher floors of a building. The radiator B, as conventionally shown inthe drawing, has its steam in let B connected to. the pipe A by a steam supply branch connection C, including a regulating device, shown. as an throttle valve C. the steam inlet B" the radiator.

Advantageously and as shown,- is located adjacent the top of The radiator is provided with an air vent B and D-isa conventionally illustrated thermostatic. air valve. which may be of any known or'suitable type operating to open the vent I? to permit the discharge or" air from the radiator, or to permit atmospheric air to enter the radiator, and to closethe vent B when necessary to prevent the dischargegof steam therethrough. The known form of the thermostatic valve D shown diagrammatically in Fig.1, and in detail in Fig. 2, comprises abodyrexternally threaded at D to permit the casing usualnipple opening portion of an end to be screwed into the in the outside of the upper section of a steam heating radiator of the usual type with the major portion of the body located within the radiator. The valve body is formed ith a passage open at its outer endD to the atmosphere and termina ing at its inner end in a valve seated port D The port D is controlled by a valve member D carried at one endof a thermostatic element D The latter has its opposite end connectedfto the v'alveibody, and is in the form of a hollow shell having a fiexiblewall and containing an expansible fluid, so that the valve member 1) seats and closes the port D or moves away from and opensthat port, diumisurrounding the shell D is steam, or is air at a lower temperature than the steam.

The radiator is 4 bottomior water the pipe A and the outlet B under all normal operating conditions. As shown, the return connection with its water seal means comprises a'bent pipe E leading away from the outlet B and having'a lower depend ing portion arranged alongside the pipe A, a

E surrounding the lower deannular space between the inner wall of themember E and the outer wallof the 'depende ing portion of the pipe E, to theriser A. Said annular space is closed at its upper end and communicates at its lower. end with the'interior latter being slightly abovethelower end'of the tubular member E. .The lower end of the member E is provided witha closurewhich advantageously is lower end 6' of ordinary hand operated.

accordingly, as the fluid me' shown with an outlet 13 at its the removal of sand or other foreign matter I which may collect in member E.

In installing a heating system of the kind illustrated, each water initially charged with water, though if not so initially charged with water, it will quickly charge itself with water of condensation, after the system is put into service, and thereafter the seal is constantly maintained by water of condensation forming in the radiator and overflowing through the water seal into the pipe A through the connection E The level at which the pipe ornipple-E opens to the pipe A should be sufficiently above the the pipe E and suiliciently below the outlet B of the radiator to which it pertains, to preserve the water seal in operative condition at all times. To this end the pipe E should be below the radiator outlet 13 by a distance not less than the head of water corresponding to the maximum excess of pressure in the pipe A'above the pressure of the atmosphere,

is fully closed and the The pipeE should the lower end 6 of the lower end of the seal is advantageously V condensation will notnot less'than the above 31 back. into the-latter, on any relatively sudden reduction in pressure in the radiator, such as 331 is closed, at a may occur when the valve C time whenthe. temperature in the room in which the radiator B is located, is'much below normal. In practice, of course, the distances just referred to should appreciably exceed said head to provide a suitable safety factor.

With the ordinary mild weather condition of operation in which the valve C is partly throttled, the pressure in'the radiator 13 will be less than in the pipe A, andthe water in the pipe E will then be at some intermediate level H above the pipe E With the valve 0' fully closed, the water in the pipe E will beat a level H higher than the level H but preferably appreciably below the level of the outletB The difierence between the level H and. the level of the outlet B represents the normal, safety factor. Ifthe normal maximum steam pressurein the pipe A is atmosphere, the level H course, if the maximum steam pressure of the pipe exceeds the atmosphere bymore than a pound, the level of the connectionE' must be correspondingly depressed below the level of the.

a pound above that of the H v I will be above the level of the pipe E by approximately 28 inches, Of

outlet B and the distance between the pipe E and the lowerend. e of the pipe li.v must be increased over what would be required if the maximum steam' pressure were lower;

With the construction illustrated, steam enters.

tendency to water hammer, or knocking with resultant objectionable noise and vibration tending to loosen the pipe joints, since the influxof steam is not impeded by, the escape of Water of condensation, as itmay when the steam and water now in opposite directions through the same passage. The valve li i and does not impede 1 3 sure in the radiator may increaseuntil it equals f required to condensate .j radiator will be equal When the rate of steam supply is increased C may be adjusted to continuously supply steam at whatever rate is needed to maintain a uniform temperature, which, is neither too high nor too low, in the room heated by the radiator. In ordinary apartment heating service, the use of the invention results directly in'a very substantial saving of heat in comparison with an ordinary one pipeheating system as previously installed, since with the present invention the apartments need not be, and ordinarily are not overheated, while with theordinary one pipe system, as ordinarily used, the apartments are customarily overheated undermild weather conditions.

With the described provisions for maintaining the water seal in the return connection,

the normal excess of pressure in the riser above that in the radiator is never. sufiicient to cause the sealing water to pass back into the radiator, orto interfere with the free drainage of the radiator. In consequence, there is no tendency for water of condensation to accumulate in the radiator at any time. g

The radiator condensing capacity during periods in which less than the full condensing capacity of the radiator is required, is automatically reduced by air then held in the radiator in whatever amount is necessary to make the condensing capacity of the radiator that the steam then being supplied to the radiator. During any period of steady operation in 'which steam is being supplied at a rate below the maximum condensing capacity of the radiator the pressure in the to that of the atmosphere.

air is expelled from the radiator as required to maintain or restore atmospheric pressure in the radiator. Conversely when the supply of steam to the radiator is reduced. the resultant tendency to the creation of a minus pressure in the radiator sucks atmospheric pressure into the latter until atmospheric pressure in the radiv ator is restored. The pressure in the radiator 1 never rises above that of the atmosphere except momentarily, until the supply of steam continues to exceed the rate of condensation after the radiator has become filled with steam at atmospheric pressure. In that event, the pres the pressure in the pipe A.

Since water of condensation does not accumur' normal condi late in the radiator during any tion of operation, the amount of water which can be discharged from the radiator return con nection intothe riser, when the steam supply to the radiator is substantially increased, is relatively small with suitably proportioned water seal means, and hence does not tend to objectionable water hammer in, or ,vibration'of the riser piping. The amount of water discharged into the riser immediately following an appreciable increase in radiator pressure, is minimized, of course, by reducing thecross sectional areas of the water seal water passages.

The formation of an outlet connection from a radiator to a riser pipe in the manner illustrated, by means of a pipe, like the pipe E, depending into a second pipe like the pipe E, the internal diameter of which is greater than the external diameter of the dependingportion of the pipe E, is desirable from the standpoint of mechanical simplicity and low cost of pro- 1 duction, and because such an outlet connection air vent closing I let and said pipe opening can be readily, located-closely alongside the riser pipe when the space available for it is restricted. In such an outlet connection the cross sectional areas of the water seal passages,

and the water. holding capacity of the water seal means, can be reduced to a practical minimum. ,I have found in extensive use of heat-' ing systems of the-kind disclosed herein, that the pipe E required for use with an ordinary radiator'having as much. as seventy live or ninety square feet of radiating surface need not be larger than an ordinary half inch pipe.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of 1 my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus ing from the spirit of my invention as set forth inthe appende'd'claims and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage .without a corresponding use of other features. Having now described claim as new and desire Patent, is:-'-

myinvention what I- .to secure by Letters disclosed without depart-f 1. In a steam heating system thefcombination 5 with a radiator having a steam inlet, 'a water of condensation outlet and an air vent, said inlet and outlet being separated from one another to prevent interference by the incoming steam with the outflow of water of condensation, of a vertically disposed pipe adapted to supply steam to andto receive water of condensation-from said radiator, a regulable connection between connection between said radiator outlet and said pipe comprising portions extending downward from said outlet and pipe, respectively, and communicating at their lower ends and forming means for maintaining a water seal in saidconnection preventing steam flow into the radiator through said outlet, and connected to said pipe sufficiently far below said radiator 'to provide radiator drainage and to prevent water accumulation in the radiator'under all normal operating conditions, and means associated with said the latter to prevent the discharge of steam therethrough and opening said vent to permit air to pass into or out of the radiator through said vent.

2. In a steam heating system the combination with a radiator having a steam inlet, a water ofjcondensation outlet, said inlet and outlet being separated, from one another to'prevent interference by the incoming steam with the no said radiator inlet and said pipe, a separate outflow-of water of condensation, andanair 1 vent, of a vertically disposed pipe adapted to supply steam to and to receive water of condensation from said radiator, a regulable connection between said radiator inlet and said pipe, a separate connection between said radiator outmeans associated-with said air vent closing the latter to preventthe discharge of steam therethrough and opening said vent to tothe latter at a disfrom said outlet and pipe,

permit air the incoming steam end and larger in internal first mentionedupipe to pass into or out of the radiator through said vent. 1 r '3. In' a steam heating system, the combination with a radiator having asteam inlet and an outlet, said inlet and outlet being separated from one another to prevent interference by with the outflow of water of condensation, of a vertically disposed pipe, a connection between said radiator outlet and said pipe, said connection comprising a pipe connected to said outlet and having adepending portion, a second pipe closed at its-"lower diameter than the external diameter of the and into which said depending portion lextends, ,a connection from the space between the last mentioned pipes and the first mentioned pipe said connection opening to the first mentioned pipe. at adistance of said depending portion which exceeds the water head corresponding to the -maximum :ex-

cess of pressure in i the first mentioned :pipe

above the pressure of the atmosphere, and means closing said space above' the level of its connection to the first mentioned pipe.

4. In a steam heating systemthe combination with a radiator having a steam inlet, .a water above the lower end of condensation outlet and an air vent, said inlet and outlet being separated from one an-- other to prevent inter'ference by the incoming steam with the outflow of water of condensation, of a vertically disposed pipe adapted to supply steam: to and to receive water of condensa'tion from said radiator, a regulable connection between said radiator inlet and said pipe a separate connection between'said radiator outlet and, said pipe providing a flow passage portion'leading downward fromfsaid outlet and a flow passage portion leading upward to said pipe and opening to the latter at a level below the outlet level, said passage portions being connected at a level below the first mentioned level and providing a water seal in the last mentioned connection, the distance between the first mentioned level each of the other levels exceeding the Water head corresponding to the maximum excess of pressure in the first mentioned pipe above the pressure of the atmosphere, and means associated with said air vent closing the latter to prevent the discharge of steam therethrough and opening said vent to permit air to pass into or out of the radiator through. said vent.

, LAJOS 

